Jugs o' suds: Growlers a hip way to tote home fresh beer

Saturday

Jun 8, 2013 at 12:01 AMJun 8, 2013 at 1:39 PM

On a recent Saturday afternoon, 160 beer taps were a-flowing along the newly nicknamed "growler alley" - a stretch of Indianola Avenue encompassing a trendy gastropub, an independent movie-theater bar and a corner store. A steady stream of imbibers clutched the reusable glass jugs designed for grabbing draft beer to go.

Kevin Joy, The Columbus Dispatch

On a recent Saturday afternoon, 160 beer taps were a-flowing along the newly nicknamed “growler alley” — a stretch of Indianola Avenue encompassing a trendy gastropub, an independent movie-theater bar and a corner store.

A steady stream of imbibers clutched the reusable glass jugs designed for grabbing draft beer to go.

“At first, I said: ‘What is this growler business?” said Nancy Narry, 38, of Upper Arlington, toting a container of fresh Columbus Brewing Co. suds to her car.

“Now, they’re everywhere.”

Summer’s hottest drinking accessory has arrived with a roar.

A wave of beer-centric businesses has bubbled up throughout central Ohio in recent months, with some outlets focused solely on growlers and the carryout consumer.

The name itself suggests “the wooden buckets of beer people used to take home way back in the day,” said Joe Alton, editor of Growler magazine, based in St. Paul, Minn.

Those vessels, he said, would make “a slurping, burping, growling noise” when carried.

“It’s the oldest way to get beer,” said Alton, “and very much connected to the localism and craft renaissance we’re experiencing.”

At Savor Growl — part of “growler alley” in the Clintonville neighborhood — the concept is intended to provide drinkers access to specialty brewers unavailable beyond pubs and restaurants.

“A lot of tap product is draft only,” said Firas Habli, who opened the takeout-only Savor Growl in April and carries central Ohio beers by Elevator, Four String and Seventh Son Brewing among his 60 taps. “Some of the little guys don’t bottle.”

Taste matters, too: A straight-from-the-keg pour is a selling point for growler vendors.

“People love the freshness,” said John Evans, who last month opened the Ohio Taproom near Grandview Heights. The space, a former barbershop, features 20 Ohio-made beers available for growler fills — “sealed” with a high-tech machine that adds carbon dioxide to extend shelf life.

Once opened, he said, the contents should be consumed within two to three days.

Beyond tastings, though, patrons can’t kick back with a pint in Evans’ cozy store. Or Habli’s Savor Growl, for that matter.

Although the passage of House Bill 243 last year included a provision allowing the state’s carryout stores to sell beer samples and fill growlers, a D-1 restaurant permit is required to offer full-size servings on the premises, according to Ohio Department of Liquor Control spokesman Matt Mullins.

That distinction hasn’t deterred entrepreneurs from pursuing the growler trend, popular for the past few years among beer connoisseurs in urban hot spots.

John Blakely, who in December opened the Daily Growler in Upper Arlington, has the permits to serve on-site but noted that three-quarters of his customers still opt to get brews to go.

“I love the idea of taking that fresh craft beer home to drink in your pajamas while watching Netflix,” Blakely said. “It’s definitely cheaper than drinking at a bar.”

At $10 to $15 for a fill, the standard 64-ounce growler is “a few ounces under a six-pack,” said Collin Castore, co-owner of the North Market liquor shop the Barrel and Bottle, which has five beers on tap. And, added Castore, also a co-owner of Short North beer bar Bodega and Italian Village newcomer Seventh Son — the latter a brewery that offers growlers — “it’s a nice, eco-friendly way to carry our beer.”

Both central Ohio Whole Foods locations carry them. The Giant Eagle at Hamilton and Morse roads near Gahanna has a growler-filling station. That concept is expected to expand to other area stores, spokesman Brock Schmaltz said.

Most vendors don’t mind if patrons use growlers bearing a competitor’s logo, as long as the inside is rinsed. (It has to be a real growler, which costs about $5 or $6; don’t try presenting a plastic milk jug or wooden bucket.)

The Daily Growler, for instance, will swap another’s growler for one of its own.

At Barley’s Brewing Co., brewmaster Angelo Signorino said that his first customer request for a growler came in 1993. A hot-sauce container was washed and hastily substituted, he joked.

Even then, said Signorino, who has sold real ones during the two decades since, “we realized there was a market for it.”

kjoy@dispatch.com

@kevjoy

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